Synthesis and self-assembly of amphiphilic carbosilane polymers

Synthetic method of amphiphilic polycarbosilanes and their self-assembly in solution or at the air-water interface were investigated. It was found that ring-opening polymerizations of silacyclobutane derivatives were useful techniques to obtain well-defined amphiphilic polycarbosilanes. It was also found that the amphiphilic polymers formed micelles in selective solvents and monolayer films at air-water interface. Topics are (1) living anionic polymerization of 1,1-dialkylsilacyclobutanes, (2) block copolymer synthesis by means of a living polymerization of 1,1-diethylsilacyclobutane, (3) small-angle X-Ray scattering (SAXS) analysis of micelles formed by poly (1,1-diethylsilacyclobutane-block-2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate) in solution, (4) X-Ray reflectivity (XR) analysis of monolayers formed by poly (1,1-diethylsilacyclobutane-block-2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate) at water surface, (5) synthesis of poly(styrene-block-3-hydroxymethyl-1,1-dimethylsilacyclobutane) by using polymerization of 3-methylenesilacyclobutane and SAXS analysis of its micelle formation, and (6) synthesis of poly (silacyclobutane-graft-ethylene oxide), and SAXS analysis of its solution behavior.